TV’s Great, “White Glove” Service isn’t.
The 46″ Sony TV works good, but does need some adjustment to the picture. I’ve tried to make adjustments exactly as the manual instructs, but to no avail. No big deal, but I guess I’ll have to call the service dept. Now on to what really bothers me…. The promise of “White Glove” delivery.
Our new TV was delivered on Dec. 23, 2008 at 5:45PM. We paid for and expected “White Glove” delivery service. What we got was ONE individual who was “sorry” that he was unable to install the TV (Sony 46″) on a new TV stand we purchased because Sony BRAVIA KDL-32XBR9 was too big for him to handle alone. (I offered to help.) We had EVERYTHING set up and ready for the installation. What the delivery people (we expected more than one guy)had to do was attach two brackets to the back of the TV and hang the TV on the stand. Really, no big deal. The individual again was “sorry”, but he was only able to do a “standard” set-up. I guess the standard set-up consisted of placing the TV on a table and walking away. We ended up doing the job ourselves, and disposing of the packing material.
Many TV’s this big are hung on a wall or onto a stand. Our request was not unusual, and certainly well within the realm of a customary installation. You need to retrain your delivery personnel to accommodate a simple installation other than simply placing the purchased TV onto a table.
Spectacular Picture, Mysterious Sound Problem. The picture on this set is the most remarkable I have ever seen and I have been watching television since 1939. Sony BRAVIA KDL-32XBR9 does have one strange problem. When connected to Time Warner cable in New York City,the sound goes off for a few seconds at irregular intervals – Sony BRAVIA KDL-32XBR9 could be once every five minutes or Sony BRAVIA KDL-32XBR9 could be once an hour. If the same HDMI input is used for the Blu Ray player there is no problem. Nor is there a problem if the Time Warner box is connected to a 22 inch Sony High definition set. Sony has no idea what to do.
Awesome. I’m using FIOS with this TV and the picture is awesome. The sound quality is very good. The picture quality is especially noticeable on people’s faces. Color and subtle shading looks perfectly natural. Not that blotchy effect you see with some TVs. The picture quality you see in stores is often not as good as what I’m seeing with FIOS. This makes comparison shopping very difficult. So I can’t make any meaningful comparisons to other brands.
This TV has some slight blurring in fast action sports. I don’t notice Sony BRAVIA KDL-32XBR9 in basketball. Sony BRAVIA KDL-32XBR9 is most noticeable in hockey. Occasionally the puck will disappear momentarily on a fast slap shot. Not so on my old standard CRT TV. But the vast improvement in overall picture quality is breathtaking. This TV has a three position motion enhancement option (off, standard, and high). I can’t tell any significant improvement at any setting. The fact the TV even has this option confirms there are challenges getting fast motion to look right. But my wife doesn’t notice the blurring problem. I’ve never noticed any pixilation.
The sound quality is very good – much better than I expected. I have high-end speakers, but don’t feel the need to bother turning them on in most cases.
The brightness of the TV is great – even in my brightly lit room. Sony BRAVIA KDL-32XBR9 has four picture settings that are increasingly bright (cinema, custom, standard, and vivid). My preference is usually custom and occasionally standard. This TV has a frosted finish on the screen that minimizes glare which was a major factor in my choosing Sony over the Samsung which has a very glossy screen.
No problems with the shipment. Sony BRAVIA KDL-32XBR9 was delivered ahead of schedule – even during Christmas rush – and in perfect condition.
This TV went on sale right after I bought it. Amazon politely refused to refund the price difference. Curiously, Amazon would let me return Sony BRAVIA KDL-32XBR9 and reorder at the lower price, but that was just too much trouble at a busy time of year.